Letter to Rt. Hon. Lucy Powell, MP, Secretary of State for Education - Teacher Supply and Teacher Education

23 July 2026

22 July 2026

Lucy Powell MP
Secretary of State for Education
Department for Education
Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith Street
London SW1P 3BT

Dear Minister Powell,

Teacher supply and teacher education

On behalf of the Universities Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET), we are writing to congratulate you on your appointment as Secretary of State for Education.

We are looking forward to supporting you and working with you on the range of issues to do with teacher supply, initial teacher education (ITE) and the professional development of teachers. UCET has developed a strong and effective working relationship with your officials over the years, and we very much hope that this will continue.

For nearly six decades, UCET has acted as an independent and authoritative voice on Teacher Education. UCET supports the quality, sustainability and professionalism of, teacher education by encouraging cohesive partnerships, engaging constructively with stakeholders and drawing on research from across the UK and internationally. In April we took over the role of Executive Directors and we are working hard to ensure UCET maximises its potential as an organisation and contributes in meaningful ways to policy conversations and innovations.

We would be keen to meet with you to discuss teacher supply and teacher education. UCET supports the Government’s policy that all teachers should have, or be working towards, QTS and we agree with the principle of a training entitlement for teachers. The election manifesto commitment to recruit 6,500 new teachers was very welcome and has successfully contributed to a decline in the teacher supply crisis at a national level. However, we feel that there are some key areas that warrant immediate attention. We are aware from our members that the national picture of teacher supply success does not account for emerging regional cold spots of teacher supply (both generally and for some subject areas). This is pointing to an inequitable picture, with schools and communities facing a localised teacher supply crisis in some places, outside the capital and other urban areas. We would welcome a discussion of this and would also like to discuss ways in which teacher education can address key issues such as the climate crisis, SEND, and workforce equality and diversity issues.

Yours sincerely,

Jo and Stef

Professor Joanna McIntyre & Professor Stefanie Sullivan
Executive Directors
Universities' Council for the Education of Teachers